


To Believe in Magic

by PilindielTheElf



Series: And so the Angels Sing [1]
Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Canon, Yuletide 2020, minor character appreciation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27947279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PilindielTheElf/pseuds/PilindielTheElf
Summary: In which Caitlyn follows Halt outside in the middle of a winter night.
Relationships: Caitlyn O'Carrick & Halt O'Carrick
Series: And so the Angels Sing [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2046692
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	To Believe in Magic

A flicker of movement caught Caitlyn’s eye. Her heart skipped a beat. Setting down her hairbrush, she turned to peer out the window. There was no moon in the sky that night, and the air was overcast with fog. It was near impossible to see anything, but Caitlyn couldn’t help but think that she had. She knew that she had. The misty fog had parted for a split second, and she wasn’t one to believe that it was just her imagination. 

Pressing her nose up against the cold glass, Caitlyn squinted. She stood still for a few seconds, her heart the loudest thing in her room. Nothing. Huffing out a breath, she wiped her window clean with the sleeve of her nightgown. Then, it happened again. Another flicker. 

This time, Caitlyn managed to catch sight of a small figure. She frowned. There was only one person she knew who would go running off in the middle of the night. One person who had the audacity to disobey their parents. One person with the skill not to be caught. 

It was Halt, her eldest brother. Caitlyn wondered where he was going. She had never caught him in the act of leaving before. She glanced back at her door. It must have been fate that she would catch him on this day, the first of Yule. The day where dinner was more uncomfortable and tense than normal. 

Caitlyn didn’t understand it. Yule was supposed to be a happy time of the year, one filled with wonder and splendor. She had counted down the days ever since the new year, patiently waiting. Anticipating. It was supposed to be magical. 

Instead, it had been the opposite. Her parents were angrier, stricter, and Ferris held his chin up higher. And then, there was Halt. He seldom spoke nowadays, and when she would ask, he would deflect and move on. He would change the subject and leave her in the dark with no answers. One day, he had said. One day, he had promised. He had always done it, but it somehow stung more now. As if one day meant never. That he would never tell her anything. 

She supposed she would just have to take things into her own hands. 

Caitlyn quickly found her shoes, and she slipped silently out of her room. Looking around, she dashed down the hallway. Her footsteps were light with the bounce of a rabbit. Not silent, but soft enough that no one would hear it unless they were looking for her. 

She rushed down the stairs, stopping at a corner when she spotted a servant. When the coast was clear, she ran. Her heart pounded in her chest, a rhythm that beat faster and faster until she was out of breath. 

Pushing open the doors, Caitlyn found herself standing outside. She sucked in a breath and slowed to a walk, her hand outstretched in case she bumped into anything. Even though she had lived there her whole life, she had no idea where anything was. She swallowed. She should have paid more attention. 

The fog clouded everything around her, blanketing the world in gray. She couldn’t see a thing. It was like navigating the void with no sense of direction, walking one way forever with no end in sight. 

Caitlyn looked back the direction she came from. For a split second, she wondered whether she should go back. It wasn’t like she could find Halt anyways, especially in the fog. In their games of hide and seek, she had never once found him. He was too good of a hider. 

But she never gave up. Caitlyn looked down at herself. She had never once gave up, and she wasn’t about to now. Caitlyn walked forward, pushing through the fog, forcing it to part for her. 

Not a second later, Caitlyn yelped when a hand closed in on her arm. Stumbling back, she whipped around. Her eyes widened, and she found herself staring into a pair of dark eyes. She gulped, freezing. Goosebumps lined her skin. 

“What are you doing?” Halt hissed. “You shouldn’t be out here!” 

She struggled to come up with an answer. Her voice came out in a small squeak. “I thought—I wanted—What about you? You’re not supposed to be here either!” 

“That’s different.” 

“What?” 

“Go back home. Now.” 

“No!” 

“Cait.” 

“What if I want to come with you? Where are you going?” 

“Go back to your room.” 

“No! I’m not—hey!” 

Caitlyn fought back as Halt covered her mouth with a hand. He dragged her away, a finger to his lips. He gestured to a guard that was walking in their direction. Caitlyn blinked. She didn’t know how Halt had managed to spot him in the fog. 

He led her out of the castle walls and into the forest. Caitlyn looked warily around at the trees, quickening her pace at their hand-like branches and snake-like roots. She stiffened at one that looked scarily like an ax murderer. 

Grabbing onto Halt’s hand, she hugged closer to him. “Where are we going?” 

He didn’t answer, and she huffed at a strand of her hair in frustration. She struggled to keep up with his quick pace, scrambling to hop over logs and always a second too late in ducking under a branch. Rubbing her head, she sighed in relief when Halt came to a stop at the bank of a small lake. 

Caitlyn found a place next to him, and she looked out at the sight in front of her. She gasped. The lake was a stunning blue, shimmering as the starlight reflected off of it. The rippling of the water created circles, and they grew, expanding. With a start, Caitlyn realized that there was no fog. She looked up at the sky. Indigo with a splash of white glitter. The stars were gemstones, some bright and others dull. Beautiful. It was like a painting with how vivid it looked, and Caitlyn almost didn’t believe it was real. 

She looked at Halt, who looked just as taken as she felt. She touched his sleeve. “Halt?” 

“What do you want?” 

“I want to know you,” she said. “I want you to stop avoiding me.” 

“I’m not avoiding you.” 

Caitlyn shot him a pointed look. “You avoid my questions.” 

He went silent. 

Caitlyn sighed. She watched the water. “Today’s the first day of Yule, you know.” 

Halt groaned. “You don’t need to remind me.” 

“What’s wrong with Yule?” 

“It’s just horrible! I mean, were you there at dinner tonight?” 

“Things can change. We just need to be happy and embrace what we have.” 

“You don’t really think that, do you? We’re never going to be a family.” 

Caitlyn looked down. She played with the strings of her nightgown. “Things can change,” she repeated. 

“Not when they’re this bad.” 

“But it’s Yule,” she said. “It’s the most magical time of the year. We should be happy.” 

Halt made a face, but he didn’t say anything. Caitlyn frowned at him, pursing her lips. 

“What?” she said. “Don’t you believe in magic?” 

She saw how his shoulders tensed, how his face twisted for a quick second before he forced himself to relax. He took several breaths, his fists opening and closing. When he spoke again, his voice was painfully calm. As if it took much deliberation and strength to utter the words he spoke. 

“I do,” he said. “Of course I do.” 

“Then, we can change. We just have to hold our heads high, and we have to be happy.” 

“Be happy,” Halt repeated. 

Caitlyn nodded. “Yeah. Be happy.” 

They stood in silence for a few minutes, watching each other. Smiling towards each other. They were happy. If everything around them turned to chaos, if everything around them was spent to dust, they would choose to be happy. To see the light in the dark tunnel. They just had to believe. 

Caitlyn laughed when a speck of white fluttered down and landed on Halt’s head. She turned away, tilting her head up at the night sky as another speck landed on her nose. “It’s snowing!” she gasped, sticking out her tongue. The snowflakes melted on contact. 

Halt chuckled. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s magic.” 


End file.
